Green Eyed Kat
by SilverEagleLord
Summary: Kat was once Katherine Potter...so why doesn't she remember anything? Dragged back into the world she never knew existed, how is she going to get out of this but, more importantly, who took her memories in the first place? (Yeah, throwing this in M since the opening is basically a lemon)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing that shows up here that is licensed as property of another.

AN: Well this probably sucks but look at my idea for an actual story...yeah, it probably sucks but a great guy once said something: fuck it! Well a bunch of people say that actually so fuck it, I'm doing this!

* * *

"Dante..." the woman beneath the white haired Nephilim moaned and begged as she writhed beneath him but his strong hands held her shaking hips down no matter how much she moved. "Please..."

"Please what Kat?" Dante grinned up at her, giving her shockingly sensitive womanhood another lick, making the woman below him moan.

"...please..."

"Come on Kat, you can do it."

"Fuck me! I want your cock now!"

Dante gave her womanhood one last kiss before rising, taking a moment to align his cock with it and plunging in, making the woman above him nearly scream as she was filled up almost instantly before her entire body shook in waves of ecstasy as Dante plunged in and out of her, filling her up again as quickly as he would leave her feeling empty, aching for him to return.

"Harder Dante, harder!" Kat's arms wrapped around his back, her nails digging into his back and leaving marks, something that seemed to only excite Dante, the Nephilim pumping in and out of her harshly before, sadly, they were interrupted when the door to their apartment opened and a scream made Dante stop.

"Ms. Potter, what are you doing with that thing!"

* * *

After calming down, particularly Dante since he seemed ready to attack the intruders, and getting some clothes on, her shorts and one of his old shirts and Dante just throwing on a pair of pants along with his jacket, Kat sat on one end of the bed, Dante leaning back against the wall smoking, and the three figures in robes that had interrupted them sat in chairs they had made with a wave of sticks in their hands. The tenseness in the air made Kat sigh as she leaned back, resting back against Dante who continued to glare at the people in robes in their apartment. Two of the three did the same, hardly hiding their looks of disgust when they looked at Dante, while the last one, the guy dressed in red, glanced from Kat to the floor in a seemingly endless cycle. The old woman of the trio turned her eyes to Kat, a strange amount of warmth in them as she began speaking.

"Ms. Potter, despite your relationship with this...this thing-"

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time but my name's Dante you bitch."

"Dante, calm down." Kat only received a noncommittal grunt from the Nephilim, something that she knew was the best she was going to get if he was as annoyed as he seemed with the three after they barged into their place.

"Minerva, Severus, perhaps the two of you sh-"

The man didn't get to finish when a glare from the woman made him close his mouth, turning his eyes back to the floor without making another sound.

"Ms. Potter, ignoring everything else, the three of us are here to offer you a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the premier school for young witches and wizards across Europe." The woman's words gained only a raised eyebrow from the Wiccan Witch.

"So?" The black haired man with a hooked nose barely held back a snort of distaste as he sneered at the girl as he looked at her, earning a growl from Dante.

"I knew we should not have tried your way Minerva, we'll need to deal with this animal first before talking to her."

"For once, I agree with you Severus."

"Perhaps we should tr-"

"Shut it Potter, why we brought you I still don't know!"

Two of the three, one a woman in green robes and the other a man in black robes, stood up as the other, dressed in red robes, remained sitting with a look of defeat on his face as they drew their sticks again, lights growing in size at the end of them as they pointed them towards Dante.

"Ms. Potter, step away from that thing." the woman spoke again, a tone of disgust in her voice and Kat tensed, looking at the sticks in their hands and Dante easily caught onto her mood, wrapping an arm around her as he held out one hand, a smaller version of the shuriken like blade called Aquila appearing in his hand, two of them held between his fingers, before he threw them forward.

With a pained shout, they dropped their sticks as they clutched at their hands, smoke rising from the wound before the silver blades vanished as Dante glared at the two clutching at their hands.

"Fuck off, can you understand that?" The white haired Nephilim didn't bother to hide his glare towards the two robe wearing freaks who had barged into his apartment. "You assholes come near Kat again and you're dead, got it?" Holding the Wiccan witch tighter against him, the half Angel and half Devil spared one last glare to the two before gently kissing Kat's neck.

"Dante, what are you doing?" Trying to whisper in outrage failed when she moaned when the Nephilim began sucking on her neck while his hands gently moved up and down her stomach.

"These guys are pissing me off, tell them they need to get the fuck out."

"Severus, Minerva...maybe, maybe we should leave?" the black haired man wearing the red robes seemed afraid to even speak, both of his companions glaring at him before they suddenly vanished with a crack, both nursing their wounded hands.

"Kat..." the man's entire demeanor immediately changed once the two were gone, he seemed more confident but also his eyes changed. They showed a certain emptiness in them, one only caused by loss. "For what it's worth...I'm happy for you." Looking to be done, the man vanished with another crack, a letter the only thing marking his place there along with a stick of wood.

"Dante..." Kat tensed in the Nephilim's arms, not from what Dante was now doing, his hands were drifting lower, but from the weird energy she was getting from the envelope the man in red had left.

'Maybe I should open it?' Kat looked to Dante who stopped, his arms wrapping around her waist as he began to kiss her neck. "Just to see what it's about?"

"Kat, do what you want but can it wait?" Dante's hands may have been idle for the moment but they were beginning to move again, Kat holding back a sigh as they slipped under her shirt and began massaging her stomach but it was enough for her to shake her mind clear of the letter, focusing much more on the Nephillim's wandering hands.

"Dante..." Kat leaned back into Dante, enjoying the Nephilim's sudden attention to her breasts after his hands had finished with her stomach. "I need you again."

Kat tried turning her head to kiss Dante next but the Nephilim sighed as he pulled back, he wasn't clueless and could see Kat was still distracted by the letter sitting on the bed and knowing where it would lead if he continued, for once he was holding back his more bestial urges to deal with the mess in front of him now before it was a massive problem he had to solve later. Even if it did involve introducing those annoying assholes to Rebellion.

"Kat, who the hell where those three?" Dante readjusted his grip on her, leaning back on the wall behind them while still keeping his hold on her.

"Can we not talk about it." Kat sighed as she turned around, wrapping her arms around Dante. "Maybe they were demons or something in disguise."

"No, I would have sensed them and this whole city is a mess right now, they wouldn't be able to hide their true forms either with all the energy in the air." Dante gently began rubbing circles on her back, Kat glancing up at his shock white hair, an effect of the changed state of Limbo City since Mundus had fled. "Mind telling me who they really were now?"

"Please Dante...I can't deal with this right now." Not getting a response from the Nephilim, Kat tightened her grip around him before focusing on listening to his heartbeat. "Maybe later...but not right now, not after all that shit they just said."

"Yeah, later..." Dante seemed content to let it go, something Kat would be glad for as she closed her eyes, not catching the look he gave her, a caring look he reserved only for her. "Sweet dreams Kat."

"You too Dante..." Before she knew it, she was asleep in his arms, Dante smiling as he looked back at her before the letter once again drew his attention.

The energy in it wasn't Demonic but it wasn't that far from it, definitely unnatural and it wasn't Angelic, it was too dark for it. It was definitely an offshoot of something to do with Demons then.

All of which meant he would need to get his hands dirty for this, they were either Demons in really good disguises or they had some type of deal going on, from what he had learned from Vergil's books, Demons and Angels made plenty of deals with humans in exchange for power, some of them more pleasant than others but all of them ended the same way. The human ended up dead, their soul sucked up by whoever they made the deal with before they went on to the next idiot who didn't know what a monkey's paw was.

'Why'd I say I'll be a Devil Hunter? Now I've got to look into this crap before it gets even worse and Kat gets dragged into it. I'll probably have to kill those guys in the end too, just great.'

* * *

AN: And end.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Second verse, same as the first.

AN: Now let's continue my probably bad attempt at an honest story.

* * *

"So, want to read the letter now or later?"

It had been close to a week since they had gotten those three weird visitors and the letter was still unopened, a weird wax seal of a bunch of animals still unbroken on it, Dante had spent a few days out trying to hunt down any leads on them and had come up with nothing, no Demons knew anything about them and he couldn't track them down, couldn't catch their scent so to speak, for now at least. They had to have left a trail and he would find it eventually, just not now.

No one could hide from him long now, not after he had unlocked his full power against Mundus.

"How about later?" Kat sat down in his lap, a suggestive smile on her face as she shrugged her hoodie off her shoulders, showing she wore nothing else underneath it. "You can help me right now through, after seeing you tear apart those demons at the park..." Kat's body shook as she remembered how Dante had attacked the dozen of demons, ripping them apart with his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory, and his sword, Rebellion. "I'm surprised I didn't jump you right there, all those people watching be damned!"

"Really now?" Dante looked up at Kat, his arms still comfortably at his side despite Kat all but laying out naked for him. It usually took less to get him out of his pants but he seemed to be making an exception today, something that annoyed her to no end.

"Come on Dante!" Kat almost seemed to whine as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning forward and putting her chest on full display to Dante's eyes. "You can't be serious!"

The Demon Hunter for once didn't just wrap his arms around her and give her what she wanted, instead he just gave her a wicked taunting grin as he leaned back in his seat, Kat quickly losing her smile as she looked at him before glancing towards the letter and, to Dante, she did something very un-Kat like. She pouted, even crossing her arms with a huff.

"I can't believe this...that letter isn't that important."

"Kat, just read the letter. Enough of this bullshit." Dante grinned at her, zipping up her hoodie for her even if she didn't stop pouting, very much unwilling to do anything close to opening the letter that actually made Dante like this.

He had never ignored her when she got like this. Never!

"This is so stupid." Kat spoke mainly to herself as she grabbed the letter, sliding off of Dante's lap and sparing a second to look pleadingly at a smirking Dante, Kat frowned when he mimed opening the letter now in her hands.

"I hate you sometimes."

"Love you too Kitty Kat."

"You're lucky you're a good fuck or else I would have ditched you."

"As if anyone can get enough of this. I'm out of this world baby."

Kat only rolled her eyes at Dante's boasting and his near cringe worthy line before in seconds she broke the seal-

"KAT!" He threw himself out of his seat, rushing to her as his hair turned pure white as time slowed. His Devil Trigger was activated on raw instinct.

-and vanished from Dante's sight, their home, and from Limbo City entirely.

* * *

Pain was the first thing she could distinctly feel, next to the urge to vomit that is.

To put it simply, everything hurt.

She had teleported before, she had crossed dimensions a couple times when it was necessary for her to access Limbo, but they never hurt as much as that letter forcefully bringing her away from Dante, the Nephilim panicking the moment she had even opened it. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming when she got out of...whatever the hell she had been dragged through to get here. At best she could call it like her body was crushed, forced into too small a box and fired out like a cannonball. It was difficult to even begin to get a bearing of her surroundings but the pain from her arm had quickly made sure she could get at least focus, the pain bringing her disoriented mind back to focus.

When she had landed, she had landed badly, being unprepared for to teleport from Limbo City to wherever that stupid letter had taken her to. She should have listened to her instinct and burned it but she didn't, she thought it was fine since Dante didn't do anything to it. It should have been harmless, nothing dangerous, just a little annoying letter she would probably toss in the trash. It was NOT supposed to be some type of teleportation charm.

But she could deal with all of that later, right now she wanted to get off of the floor and find a place to draw a circle and get out of he-DAMMIT!

"Fuck, my arm." It wasn't broken, hopefully, but it was going to be a problem if she couldn't do something about it but for now it wasn't life threatening, only painful. Pain was nothing she wasn't familiar with at this point, working with the Order had put her on the bad side of a lot of people (mostly of the Demon kind) and they liked making it known. She just didn't have anyone to help her now, not even Dante.

He would come get here eventually but she knew teleportation when she saw it, she could be anywhere and he would need time to get to wherever the magic on the letter had brought her, time she hoped she had.

If this was the work of one of Mundus's followers...it was better to not think of what one of them could do to her before he would find her.

'Come on Kat, you've been through worse than this.' She had, it didn't make it hurt any less though. 'Come on and get up!'

Gritting her teeth to hold back most of a scream, Kat managed to both get herself up and use her hoodie as an improvised sling for her arm, it wouldn't do in the long run but would be fine for now...at least she hoped.

"Hello Ms. Potter."

"What the fuck!" Kat spun around, taking a look around for the first time since arriving and she found herself in some massive room and some old man with a long beard was coming towards her.

He was familiar from somewhere, an instant sense of familiarity was somehow there despite the Wiccan being sure she had never seen the man in front of her before in her entire life.

"Ah, I see they didn't explain to you everything then." The old man sighed, his gentle smile wavering for a second, a brief irritation settling in his eyes before it was gone, as he stopped still a bit away from Kat. He was clearly making sure not to get too close and almost immediately noticed her broken arm, shaking his head as he reached into one of the sleeves of the robe he wore and withdrew a stick of wood. "Before we talk, we must do something about your arm through. I know a few ch-"

Memories, hazy memories were coming back.

 _"You know what this child will cause!"_

It was the voice of a man with the hiss of a snake that came to mind first, the memories coming back, the haze slowly leaving them if not by much.

 _"Harm her and I will end you."_

The other voice, the voice of the old man, was there too but it was harder, more threatening than when she had just heard him speak.

 _"You foolish old man!"_

The snake's voice was back, the memory was more clear than ever even if still only faintly so.

All she could see was a stick, dozens of blinding lights clashing and sparks flying from every impact, something...it was hard to describe but she knew enough about this old man.

"Ms. Potter, are you alight?" He was gentle, he was like the grandfather she never had because he wouldn't push her, wouldn't ask her to do something she wouldn't or didn't want to do, he was nothing but an old man and for whatever reason she had never been so afraid of something before.

Not even Mundus.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

"Ms. Potter, please cam down." The old man seemed to understand her distress, putting away the stick and holding his hands out to her. "I am not going to hurt you, not now and not ever if I may help it!"

"STAY AWAY!" Kat quickly backpedaled, finding her back slamming against something and she just panicked, reaching down for one of her charms but it was gone and with it anyway for her to defend herself.

She would have ran but the doors were thrown open, the same red cloaked man from before throwing himself into the room, grabbing onto her, his stick in his hands and a green light that chilled her blood was close to bursting from it as he pointed it at the old man.

"James, please, put your wand away." The old man slowly spoke, not moving from where he still stood as the man's eyes reflected in his half-moon glasses, his hazel eyes nearly unhinged but strangely enough, Kat found them comforting. Suddenly, she wasn't in the cavernous hall anymore, she wasn't anything but a little girl with the man on a field with a broom underneath her.

 _"One. Two...THREE!"_

 _"I'm doing it!"_

 _"See! Just like I said!"_

They came too quickly, Kat screaming as white flashed across her eyes as she nearly fell, the man grabbing hold of her before she could hurt herself any further. The last thing she saw before she surrendered herself to the growing darkness was a little girl crying over a woman on the ground with red hair, the man on his knees motionless opposite her.

 _"I'm sorry Lily..."_

Mommy...why was mommy dead?

* * *

AN: And end.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter.

* * *

"I can't believe this shit." Two large men in leather jackets and bandanas tied over their heads played pool in an empty bar, a glance throughout it proving not even the bartender was present. Didn't stop the two of them from downing more than a dozen beers between them from the bottles strewn across the floor. "Who the fuck does that guy think he is?"

"He's the guy who wants to kill us." The reply of one made the other snort as they took their shot, a striped ball rebounding off the wall and drifting towards the middle of the table. "You didn't hear about what happened to the others, did you?"

"Hell no. I was getting this place empty." A gesture around was all it took from the one who had snorted as he handed off the cue.

"He wiped them out." He lined up his shot as he spoke. "Came out of nowhere and ripped half apart within the first minute." A crack came when a solid ball was sent forward and into another. "Dragged away the other half."

"Shit." He accepted the cue with an almost pensive look on his face. He didn't line up the shot. "Why'd he do that?"

"Who the fuck knows with that freak." The man shrugged, the leather of the jacket crinkling as he did so before resting his hands on the edge of the table. "All I know is that I'm getting out of here quick."

"Fuck that, I want to know when we can get the fuck out of these skin suits." A grimace crossed his face as he took in a deep breath. "They stink."

"What the hell did you think this shit would smell like?" He reached down, drawing out a bloodstained beer bottle from below the table. "I dragged them off a couple fresh corpses."

"Fuck you." His shot was better, his aim getting the right corner pocket acquainted with a striped ball. "When are we leaving this dump?"

"Once the others get back, we'll give them all another hour." He snatched the cue from his hand. "After that they can get to the gate by themselves." He placed down his bottle and lined up his shot." I'm not getting caught by that freak." A solid crack followed his statement.

"I'm with you there." He nodded to his words and took the cue before pausing. "Where'd you send them to anyway?"

"Told them to get some skin and come back." He shrugged his shoulders as he picked up his beer. "Don't know where the fuck they got to from that."

"Dumbasses."

"Yeah."

The two Demons turned back to their game, killing time as they waited for the rest of their gang. It was not a group of brotherhood and was more akin to something born out of necessity than anything else once Mundus was defeated months ago. Limbo City had went to hell, well Limbo at least, since then.

A bike pulled up outside the blood soaked bar, the results of "getting this place empty" as one of the Demons had put it. It immediately gained the attention of the two inside. The pool cue was set down as both moved towards the door. The skin on their hands beginning to peel back to unveil the claws they hid as they did so. Both slowly approached the door, eyes swiftly turning coal black in a blink as their fangs were bared.

"That them?"

The answer came when the door was kicked off the hinges, flying into one of them and throwing them into the wall behind them. The other, not having faced an impromptu flight, ripped itself out of the suit of skin it had on with a lunge. It threw itself towards the man responsible only to run right into the muzzle of a jet black gun. It was pressed into its chest and two rounds surrounded by the cocktail of Demonic and Angelic energy punched through it with ease. The end result of such an impact was dropping it to the ground before the man was a blur. The angelic head of a chain hooked onto the Demon pulling itself free from under the door and bringing the man to it. He landed on the door, breaking it beneath his boots, before pulling the Demon up. The black gun was held in his free hand and a warning shot was fired into it's leg. The demon screeched in pain before a second shot followed by a third ripped through the limb.

"Five seconds you little fuck! Where! Is! She!" His only answer was a pained roar and a swipe from claws that he didn't even bother dodging, the Demon Hunter not wasting time with words then as four bullets ripped through the Demon's skull before he moved on to the next. He pulled it up from where it had collapsed to the ground with a demonic hook and dragged it over to him. The demon's black slammed into the wall and he held it there with one hand as the other raised the black gun to his chest.

"Do you want to end up like your fucking friend or do you want to tell me where Mundus' cronies took her?" His only answer was a low rumbling laughter from the Demon. Even now it was mocking him and his anger before both of his hands lashed out. His gun was forgotten in favor of tearing open the Demon's head with his bare hands. It was an easy thing to ignore the way the blood splattered across him. It would disappear once the piece of shit was dead.

"You little son of a bitch!" He pulled and the Demon was no more as its dissolving corpse struck the ground.

The last two Demons he had tracked down dissolved away into the air, taking with them any chance he had of finding Kat now.

"FUCK!" He needed to kill something. Like one of those assholes who started this whole mess, especially the one that had left the letter for Kat in the first place.

* * *

"We should remove James from the school. Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, he is clearly a threat to all of the students we will soon be accepting if he lost control of himself enough to threaten Headmaster Dumbledore." Severus's voice carried across the table said Wizard had called the impromptu staff meeting at. Slow nods followed the words of the potion master even as the aged Headmaster slowly shook his head and one hand briefly moved to his shortened and blackened beard.

The entire room was in less than stellar shape, cracks and the like from deflected spells and only recently was one of the large tables thrown out in pieces after it had found itself caught in the middle of the rather vicious duel between two powerful Wizards. James's transfiguration skills remained top notch to create such a myriad of creatures. The bloodlust must have been a special bit of charm work dear Lily had taught him once they had left Hogwarts. The numerous curses each had made use of with their claws and teeth? A trait from Black's more private family spell collection.

"My dear friends I believe we are all overreacting to what happened when James was only acting as a father must. I must commend him truly for pressing me to such an extent as well during our short but intense duel. He has given me quick a few new observations to think on when I have my time from his stellar wand work. Also, I rather believe I needed a shave at some point and James has only at last provided the proper incentive to make me do so." His tone was light but his eyes were conflicted. James had been close to killing him once Katherine had collapsed while crying out for her mother. Admittedly the situation wasn't the best with his wand drawn. It had lead the Auror to believe he had done something to his daughter while he was gone. The dueling ability he had been renowned for had not at all dulled during the time of relative peace they now experienced nor his own spiral into depression that they had all been able to see the past few years since Lily had died. He was perhaps greater now than he was during any of his and his wife's famed duels once they had finished Hogwarts. "I, as the wounded party, find there is no need to punish a man only concerned for his daughter's well being. Even I must admit the situation he walked into was not at all very much to my favor with the limited information he possessed of my intentions. He reacted as any Auror would to what he saw and even more so as a father must when his daughter fell to a state of unconsciousness."

"That does not excuse the fact he cast an Unforgivable. He could have killed you Albus!" Minerva was in a rare rage it seemed but still a silver of her true concern for his life slipped into her voice and at that the aged wizard sighed. Minerva was truly as ferocious as a lioness when it came to protecting those close to her. He at many times considered her the reincarnation of Godric Gryffindor with her ferocity despite her age. "We can't ignore someone casting a Killing Curse, especially against you! He needs to be sent out before he does any more harm to either us or, even worse, the students themselves! I am deeply afraid for what he would do when Ms. Potter is threatened in his eyes." Dumbledore could not deny her points or the ones she had yet to make. Her stone eyes showed she had yet one more thing to say. "Will you still call it a 'father's duty' once he kills a student? What about when he goes after a teacher for hurting his daughter?"

"Now, now Minerva, this is quite the overreaction from you." Albus considered it the best idea to deal with the most pressing concern. James had jumped into the duel aiming to kill and the sooner he could refute that claim, the idea of him being dangerous would drain away with it. "The Killing Curse harmlessly struck a stone instead of myself as I am very much alive. I see no reason why to make such a great deal out of all of this unless you all truly miss my beard. I agree it was incredibly well maintained but it is more like the parting of an old and dear friend now. Not all things last as long as we wish them to." Even as he spoke light of what had happened not to long ago, deep down, Dumbledore could sympathize with James. He would have done the same for his own sister if he and her had been placed in James and Katherine's shoes, let alone his own daughter if he had one. His father had already showed the lengths he was willing to go for his children and paid the price. "Besides Minerva, he gave this old man a rather exciting time in the duel we had however dangerous it may have seemed to all of you. I am also very much unharmed from it, my pride in my beard not withstanding of course. I am also, to my knowledge, alive and well."

"I see you will not be drawn away from this Albus." Minerva mouth turned into a tight line for a moment before she slowly shook her head. "I won't try to move a stubborn troll more than I would debate this with you. I will keep my eye on James and if this situation ever occurs again I will not bother speaking with you. I will inform the Ministry of what he does and let Amelia deal with him."

"I cannot ask more of you. Simply give James a chance and you will see he's only doing what a father must." He could concede to those terms. "I thank you for your trust Minerva."

"Don't believe I won't remain cautious."

"At the very least he should remain separated from Ms. Potter. At least until such a time he can properly control himself in situations involving her." Severus's words were sound under that vein of thought, sound if terribly impractical when one truly knew how far James Potter was willing to go for his long lost daughter. "Frankly, knowing Potter so well, despite my distaste towards him, he will take decades to ever reach such a level of self control. It is unlikely being in his care is even safe for a young woman. Ms. Potter seems quite old from the...activities I and Minerva found her participating in upon our arrival."

"You have better luck getting me to ever actually like you Snivellous than getting James away from Katherine. We all know without a doubt that neither of those two things is ever going to happen." Sirius Black made his presence known, entering from a side door and in casual clothing. It would seem that James had called in for help at some point since they had begun their meeting. One of the last Blacks, no matter the reason behind why he still had the name, stopped at the opposite end of the table and eyes lacking warmth locked with those of Dumbledore. "Now Albus, let's cut the fat and move right on to business. You know why I'm here. Where's my goddaughter?"

"She is of course recovering from her injuries in the Hospital Wing under care of the best healers of St. Mungo's I've called and sworn to secrecy to treat her. She is in the best possible care I can provide Sirius, of that you must find it in yourself to trust me." Dumbledore was not lying, he had called everyone he could think of and implored them to call anyone else to come treat the young (who wasn't such when compared to someone as old as him?) woman that he now had in his care. He had also let it slip that someone should come by to "clean up" the Great Hall.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Sirius never did trust very easy after Lily's death. None of the Marauders did in the end.

"Then I implore that you head to see her with Minerva. She can tell you more while I handle the rest of my duties here."

"I'd prefer Snivellus. At least he won't try to lie to me while we go there and it looks like my old professor should be here talking sense to you." Sirius jerked his chin towards the black haired man to the right of him, the black robed man offering a sneer. It seemed to be his default expression when it came to any of his old schoolmates, especially the Marauders. "What do you say Slytherin?

"As much as I abhor you Black, I would never fall so low to use lies. The truth hurts much worse when it comes to you." Snape rose from his seat, nodding towards the Headmaster. "I will return shortly Albus. I doubt even Black can get lost on his way to the infirmary but if such a thing happens I will send word to you of my imminent, if late, arrival."

"Just lead the way already." Sirius held back any insults he seemed to have for Snape, either that or he was too concerned with his goddaughter to think of any.

Albus remained silent as he watched the two men leave the hall before he turned back to the teachers remaining present, now simply his Deputy Headmistress and the three other Heads of House.

"It would seem that Katherine will have quite the eventful wake up soon enough." His tone tried to be light but there was nothing light of the situation they found themselves in now.

Katherine Potter had been returned to Hogwarts but none of them could truly say what condition or how wise of a decision it had been to even do so. The earlier "activities" Severus had mentions. A Nephilim serving her...it was terrifying to even begin to imagine the amount of power she must wield to bind such a powerful creature to her service.

'These next few years will most definitely be very interesting.' Dumbledore would later consider his statement a great understatement. Interesting didn't do any of it justice.

* * *

AN: I feel this thing is either developing or slowly burning to death...weird. Anybody feel the same way?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Guess where it is? In the first chapter of course! Refer to it! Memorize it! Live it!

* * *

The day had actually started off pretty well for the man known as Sirius Orion Black. First off, he had woken up and had NOT had to deal with Kreacher's usual mumbling as he ate so that was a plus. Next, a quick look into the Daily Prophet told him Quidditch news was good with the World Cup coming up soon and Bagman was soon going to have to owe him another few hundred Galleons for another lost bet when the Bulgarians found they couldn't beat the Irish. To cap off his morning, the two witches he had as company the previous night had been up for another round in the morning.

Safe to say he was VERY late when it came to reading any more of his mail.

Then his day went to hell.

A glance at the letter revealed the cause:

Katherine Potter was back.

Another look over the parchment and the truth remained the same:

Katherine Potter was back.

Hoping his eyes were truly deceiving him, he had downed more than a few potions yet the same truth remained no matter how much he disliked it:

Katherine Potter was back.

He had to accept it in the end, the inevitable:

Katherine. Potter. Was. Back.

His plea for it all to be a prank fell on deaf ears, there was no way anyone could mistake the handwriting of James Potter, rushed or otherwise.

 _Padfoot,_

 _She's back. Can't spare much of the details. Get to the old grounds as quickly as you can._

 _Prongs._

Something that hardly even qualified as a letter was in his hands and it had ruined his day better than anything his family could have ever done. Selling the complete loyalty of their entire House to the newly risen and self titled Dark Lord Voldermort? Nothing compared to what he had in his hands. His family nearly disowning him for his audacity to refuse the Dark Mark and become one of Voldermort's loyal Death Eaters? Nothing when compared to what he had helped do to his best friend, the man who was more of a brother to him than his own flesh and blood. Nothing could ever match the lie he had let himself live for years.

 _"She's beautiful Lily."_

 _"Just promise me you'll keep her safe Sirius."_

 _"Lily...why not tell James?"_

 _"The less he knows the better. If he knew, if he even suspected..."_

 _"I know what he would do."_

 _"Just keep her safe."_

 _"You already have my word Lily."_

 _"I know I...I need to be sure Sirius."_

 _"We've done the Vow. I'll do all I can or die trying."_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"Thank me once we can share a drink over this."_

The last exchange between Sirius Black and Lily Potter had been done in near complete secret. The only witness was Katherine, a growing girl occupied with the harmless toy wand Sirius had given her that day when he had arrived at the small house the family of three called their own even during such dark times. He could remember that it shot red and gold sparks with every flick. A Gryffindor classic. The words exchanged that day, the Vow that passed through his lips and engraved itself on his skin, followed but he ignored them. Those words, his Vow, had only lead to torment after torment that he knew would have no end no matter his wishes. His vow to the wife of his best friend had made it a certainty that soon he would have no one left. Everything he had done since that day had been to keep her safe but sometimes it was all better off as just a lie he told himself. No one should be labeled guilty with half of the things he had done to keep his promise to Lily. No one but a bastard like him.

His day had started off so well only to become this. If he didn't know any better he would call it a curse from some dying adversary of the Blacks, damning Lord Black to the life he lived now.

Before he knew it, he had downed two shots of firewhiskey but even the burning in the back of his throat failed to let him ignore what he now needed to do. The next damnation of Sirius Orion Black rested in the future and he needed to do it. It was in part due to his Vow with Lily Potter and in part because it had to be done. A refusal would leave him damned regardless as everything he had done before would be rendered pointless. All the sacrifices. All of his evil acts. A third short of liquid courage was what he needed before he put it away.

He had work to do.

"Kreacher!" The house elf appeared without his usual remarks, perhaps sensing that Sirius Black was not a man to bother with them today. His patience for such antics was below zero. "We're heading to Hogwarts!"

Sirius Black dimly remembered all of these events as he walked down the halls of Hogwarts with Severus Snape at his side, the two heading to the infirmary to see Katherine's condition themselves, both having their own reasons for doing so.

One considered it an annoyance to chaperone the adult Wizard on his visit to the infirmary but found it better than sitting in at the meeting he would not bother sharing more of his input in. One considered what he had done in the past under the veil of war and safety and what he would have to do yet again with no such blinders to his actions.

'I hope it was all worth it Lily...James is going to kill me someday for what we did.'

* * *

Kat woke up in pain. It was the simplest way to describe the sledgehammer being slammed against her skull over and over again, painful enough she could only moan and shut her eyes. Light would only drive it up to jackhammers beating against her head. The only good thing was that her arm no longer hurt, it was nothing but numb at the moment, like the rest of her body.

"Kat..." A whisper came from next to her, a voice she could vaguely recognize, a blurry image of a face with a pair of hazel eyes and black messy hair all that came to her mind, the pain only briefly leaving before it returned with a cruel vengeance. She cried out when it felt like knives were being driven through her mind, twisted free before slammed in again ad again. Hands were suddenly on her shoulders and the voice came back, panic in its tone. "Kat!" Their grip hurt. Everything hurt but the fingers hurt the worse. She cried out and they tightened in their source's confusion. "Kat what's wrong? Do you need Pomfrey? Pomfrey!" Confusion shifted to panic it seemed. "Pomfrey!"

The hands we're suddenly gone, the voice still shouting for whatever 'Pomfrey' was and Kat could hear the source of the voice running away, a door slamming shut behind it. She didn't know what he was talking about and she didn't care. She just wanted to go back to sleep and away from the pain.

Her wish was granted as darkness once again consumed her, the pain was nothing but one of many harsh memories now.

When she woke up again, the blackness no longer welcoming her, the first thing she noticed was that she didn't feel pain any longer. The next thing she noted was that she could now open her eyes without fear of it.

Immediately, green eyes met hazel and memories came to her unbidden and unwanted.

* * *

AN: Now everyone there's a reason for why this took so long...just give me a couple months to find it. But hey! Late is better than never. Enjoy both chapters 3 and 4.

I still feel like this thing is either turning into something or slowly burning to death. No idea if I found a phoenix or if its just a bird on fire.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: First chapter. Maybe another one.

* * *

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not an idiot.

He presented himself as good natured and a man who was more suited to be a grandfather than many other things but he should never be called an idiot no matter one's thoughts towards him. He was a man who did not look for conflict but it did not change the facts of his long life. The man had emerged from both two major conflicts of the Magical World that had leaked into the Muggle and had been a major player in each with no argument to the opposite opinion. He defeated Gellert Grindelwald and the self proclaimed Lord Voldermort in spectacular duels that had become legend almost instantly. He had dueled Voldermort even fiercer with meager support in the Wizengamot against the bastion that was the Pureblood block. Every bill and decree passed to try and limit the rights of Half-Blood and Muggle-Born had been forced to, borrow a Muggle expression, go twelve rounds with the aged Warlock. He butchered Voldermort's plans to change the government as much as he unleashed his fury on the Death Eaters that tried to kill him on a regular basis.

Later in life, once he had defeated the first and, once again, after he had defeated the second Dark Lord of his time, he had launched a number or programs to combat the source of each conflict in the prevailing idea of blood purity among the populace of the Magical Britain. Not only had he developed numerous programs to protect both Muggles and Wizard and Witches born from Muggles but he also fought to keep them going for a very long time thanks to his position as Chief Warlock of the Winzengamot.

He remained Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry through trial after trial and offered the school as a safe haven for the children of warring parents no matter the side. He prevented Death Eaters and Aurors alike from attacking children of Witches and Wizards who had slighted them and caused them grief. He had been named Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and still held the title despite the many problems he faced. He was an intellectual who had discovered the twelve uses of dragon blood and been part of the development of Nicholas Flannel's infamous Philosopher's Stone which allowed his old friend to live in near perpetual youth for a very, very long time.

Yes, it was safe to say that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not an idiot after looking at his laundry list of achievements and titles.

From this position as a non-idiot, some would even say he was one of the greatest intellectuals to ever live, he understood exactly how dangerous Katherine Potter was. He knew exactly how dangerous she had become since she had vanished at such a young age and now had at last reappeared to the eyes of the Wizarding World many years later. He had made sure to view the memories of all three sent to speak with her in his pensieve and had at once wished for all of them to be false once he had viewed them. He wished for something pointless in the end for he knew the truth now no matter his feelings on it. Memories did not lie. They could never lie even if one thought they had changed them to misrepresent what was shown. The mind was so unaccepting of falsities in that regard that it could only present a truth. At times the truth was terrible and this was one of those times.

"Why must it be a Nephilim?" Albus Dumbledore had retreated to the privacy of his own office before opening up a bottle of Ogden's Finest and pouring himself a glass. "Why?" He had downed two in rather rapid succession but the alcohol did nothing just as the mournful song of Fawkes failed to change his mood.

"A Nephilim!" He felt like laughing at the mad world he now inhabited. "Voldermort I could deal with! I dealt with him but a Nephilim! A Nephilim was with her!" He was glad for the sound proofing he did to his office as none could hear his shouts brought on by his consumption of things much stronger than his normal tea. "A Nephilim!"

He had searched through several books older than the castle itself and had found stories that if even a fraction of them were true would spell terror and destruction for the Wizarding World if not the entirety of both worlds that existed on a single planet. Nephilim were not things to taunt or play with. They were evil and good in one being. Immense potential for one, the other, or both at once. Power few could hardly dream of lied in their hands and only grew to levels that eclipses all beings. Nephilim were the scourge that had united two polar opposites, Angels and Demons, into one force to destroy them. Nephilim had united two beings who's natural state of existence was too oppose each other on any and all issues no matter how big or small. Records showed wars had started between Angels and Demons over the most trivial of things and yet Nephilim united them to not only stop their war but unite against a common foe.

Nephilim were so terrifying to make divine creatures go against their own innate desire to destroy one another and instead destroy them. Records showed the battle was still brutal. The death of one Nephilim brought with it the death of perhaps hundreds of Angels and Demons. The truly great ones took their armies to the near breaking point before finally being slain.

"A Nephilim. She is with a Nephilim of all things." He allowed his head to fall into his arms, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands as he tried to think on what to do. If anything could even be done once the force of nature that was the Nephilim tracked Katherine to Hogwarts. "It is going to find her and it is going to kill us all for what we did to her."

A Devil's greed would fuel it. They had taken Katherine from it and now they would be slaughtered. He was lucky none of the other professors had any inkling of what the portkey in the letter had caused them all. If there was even a word of what he knew leaked, it would cause a panic like no other to sweep though the entirety of the Wizarding World. Those consumed with fear would run and only add to the mass panic while those too brave for their own good would emerge and attempt to battle the creature. Even more fools would flock to the soon to be bloodbath and engage the Nephilim and attempt to halt it for glory. They would all die and feed the rage of the Nephilim. Katherine would be turned into bait by more fools, taken away and used to draw the Nephilim into foolishness after foolishness. It would only grow more consumed with a desire for utter destruction for what they had done and would soon slaughter without end.

This would all only happens if Katherine remained alive.

If certain factions of the populace learned of her connection to a Nephilim she would no longer be in such a state and the world would face the wrath of a Nephilim with nothing left but an endless rage and unquenchable bloodlust. They would kill her while sprouting a form of insanity that would damn them all to the wrath of the beast she had bonded with. Nephilim were vile creatures but only fools would anger beings that had within them the power to destroy Angels and Demons. Sadly too many Wizards and Witches lacked the essential thing known as common sense.

"We are doomed." Fawkes continued his mournful song and Dumbledore agreed with the tone. It was a funeral dirge for them all. He poured himself another glass of Ogden's Finest and tried to drink himself into a stupor with two more glasses.

It failed when Fawkes objected to such an action and swooped down, taking the bottle to his perch and leaving it amid the ashes of his past burnings. The contents spilled out as the bottle fell over onto its side from an intentional nudge by the phoenix's wings and eyes more befitting a wise scholar stared at Dumbledore's own. It was clear that Fawkes was admonishing the Headmaster for the improper drinking on duty.

"I suppose you are right Fawkes." Dumbeldore adjusted his half moon spectacles with shaking hands. "I can't allow this to happen. The children of our world do not deserve to suffer for the mistake of an old fool like myself and his compatriots." The phoenix's trill gave him his answer and the bird of legend settled down on his perch after a brief ruffling of feathers and began a new song.

It lifted his spirits if only slightly but Fawkes had provided more with his eyes than his singing as Dumbledore was set to use his famed intelligence to stop the complete destruction of the their world. He may have to consign himself to the fate of death but a man as old as he was had little to fear now. Death was but the next great adventure and soon he would set on it.

And hopefully it would be one he took alone.

'A man as old as myself could do with some time with just his thoughts after all.' The thought, even if it was a grim one, made him smile as one hand reached up to stroke his shortened beard thanks to an impromptu trimming from one James Potter.

* * *

"Flesh. Disgusting thing, isn't it?" A warehouse played host to a demonic trade. Skin, that of a human, was needed to pass among them undetected with Limbo in disarray thanks to the Nephilim. One demon dealt in everything and skin was only a piece of its empire. "But we need it to survive right now and I've got a deal for you." He waved his arm, an inherently showmanship really, and two more demons pushed out a crate that was opened before his clients. "Freshest stuff you can get. Dealt with the smell with a week or to in Limbo. Humans won't be able to tell the difference and-" His claws flashed as he ripped into the contents of the crate to the growls of those before him. "-fixes itself."

"So, what do you say to a f-" He should have known his deal would fall through.

Black and white handguns opened fire as the bane of their kind ripped his way inside. Weapons were scrambled for but it was pointless as he became a white topped blur thanks to his Devil Trigger. His shotgun replaced his pistols and the dead rose faster and faster than the living could stop him.

It took less than a thirty seconds of constant buckshot to leave bloody dissolving chunks spread across the warehouse.

"Shit...Da-URK!" The demon he had come here for was ripped off its feet and slammed into a wall.

"WHERE IS SHE?" He had been lucky that he was so pissed because it turned out that he had been sloppy when he was ripping through the demons of Limbo City. One was left untouched. One he knew was able to find out nearly anything. "WHERE?" His violent shaking provided incentive, so did the blasts from Revenant that left chunks of the demon's clients strewn around the room.

"WHO!" The demon screamed back at him not out of bravery but mind numbing fear. It was completely terrified and continued to grasp at the hand that held it up by the throat. "I don't know what you want yet!"

"Where. Is. Kat." His voice was a low growl and his teeth changed into fangs by the last word. " **Tell. Me.** "

"I will! Just give me a few minutes to find her!"

The hold was released but the monster stayed before the devil and it trembled on the ground. The monster bent down, fangs bared with an unnatural power ripping through the world. The building the deal had been conducted in was shaking, nearly collapsing, as power swept through it.

" **You. Have. Three.** "

In three minutes, Dante would know where Kat was. In four, he would be heading for the only person he knew able to get him into Limbo.

* * *

AN: Well...I'm just not that good at this updating thing, am I?

Strangely enough, I feel this thing is still burning but it could be a chicken set on fire OR a phoenix. No idea which.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: First chapter.

* * *

"They're not bad people Lily." He was beyond wrong. They were absolutely terrible people. Some of the worst he had ever seen and they were forcing him to do this. Forcing him to give them his precious little baby girl because they wanted to hurt him.

"Those _people_ are nothing but monsters James!" He wanted to agree with her. He wanted to just say yes and tell her everything but he couldn't. Not now and, hopefully, never.

He felt the mirror start to burn in his pocket.

"Just trust me on this Lily. Please." She had to.

"I don't want our daughter to have to grow up with those monsters around." And the stubborn woman he loved didn't want anything to do with their scheme. Merlin he loved her.

"She won't." It was the only thing he could make sure of. "I promise you she won't have to deal with anything like you did."

"What about Severus then?" The bastard Snivellous... Maybe Sirius was right when it came to letting him meet Moony on a bad night.

"I-I don't see how he matters here Lily." But he did. Severus hadn't exactly been silent over the years when he spoke with Lily. No amount of pleading could make him not tell the woman he respected the harsh truths of how important blood was in their world.

"He does James since he's a half-blood. He was one of the smartest kids I knew in Hogwarts. He was far from a bucket of sunshine but he wasn't like Lucius." She had a point, he could definitely concede to that. There were few who could actually match Severus Snape when it came to Potions and one of those who came close was currently talking about him. "That man treated him like trash because he was a half-blood and no one lifted a finger to help him. Our daughter is a half-blood just like him, and me, or have you already forgotten?"

"Lily, please just trust me on this. I would never hurt Kat. Never." Honesty was in his voice but she knew him too well. She must have known what was really happening.

"I'm not so sure now James." Her quiet words broke him more than seeing her tears ever could. "I can't deal with this or you right now."

"Lily! Lily! Come back! Merlin's beard..." She left the room no matter how loud he called for her. He was about to head out after her when he heard the pop of her Apparition. The near red hot mirror was wrenched out of his pocket. "What do you want Padfoot?"

"Am I interrupting something Prongs?" The bastard was smiling in it.

"...No." The lie was terrible even to his ears.

"I heard the shouting." His smile dropped ever so slightly, became that bit more forced and less natural.

"We weren't shouting. We were...we were having an intense disagreement." Merlin he was terrible at this.

"So, problems with your wife then Prongs? How can I help you and her so you two patch things up the fun way." And now the bastard was really smiling. "I'll even watch your little Kitty Kat for you."

"Just get here if you really want to take her." He was glad to hear some good news today at last. "Don't bother with the bike."

"AND I try to do something nice and you just have to ruin my fun don't you. Your Floo's open right?"

"To friends."

"I'm a friend right?"

"Just get over here Padfoot."

"Give me a few minutes. I've got to make sure Kreacher doesn't bring 'nice and sweet-better than nasty old dog-Mistress Bella' back."

"See you then."

James Potter pulled his head up from the small personal pensive he had dipped it in, snorting and sputtering as he tried to force imaginary water out of his lungs. He hunched over the side of the magical device, one hand reaching up to take off his glasses and rub at the hazel eyes beneath them. His fingers came away wet as the tears streaked down his face. He could only bury his face into his sleeve as the same thought struck him like every other time he observed the memory.

His last words with Lily were an argument. His stupid, idiotic, ridiculous plan was the last time they talked. He was such a failure to such a wonderful woman. He wouldn't let what happened to Lily happen to their little girl through. He would head to the Hospital Wing and make sure she would never have to suffer. He would make sure she was happy above all else, loved by whoever she fancied, and never in the same danger she was in when she was younger. He wouldn't allow anyone, not Merlin himself, to hurt Kat again.

It was at least what he thought before Kat woke up.

"James." Sirius met the father outside the Hospital Wing. He looked distraught, tears pouring from his eyes as he tried in vain to rub them out on the sleeve of his robe. He had failed time and time again judging from the wet spots dotting both. His glasses were askew and he seemed more akin to wanting to die than keep living.

"I'm such a fool Padfoot." James let his head fall back on the stone wall behind him. "I'm such a stupid, stupid fool."

"Merlin's beard James, what exactly happened in there?" Sirius leaned back on the wall next to his longtime friend. He knew what had happened. He knew precisely what had happened inside the Hospital Wing because Kat was Kat.

"She hates me. She screamed at me to get out and never come back because I killed Lily. She never wants to see me again. She screamed at me to go die somewhere if I wanted to be a father to her. A good father would kill himself and never talk to her again after I killed her mother."

"James..." Sirius didn't know what to say. He thought he did but he couldn't think of anything. It was pointless to even attempt to say anything to the distraught him before him. He could say nothing. He could do nothing but stand where he was. He could only silently support his best friend.

He could do so until he had to push the knife in deeper.

"What's going on in there now?"

"Pomfrey told me she's complaining about headaches. They haven't left her since she woke up but they're better than what she was going through earlier. She left a few minutes ago to get potions from the dungeon store after putting her to sleep." James took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes yet again and the Auror failed to stop the tears still. "She..."

"Come on James." Sirius laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "She can't hate her own father. Not after everything you've been doing for her."

"I've done nothing for her." The Auror let a humorless laugh escape him. "All I did was kill Lily, take the most wonderful woman in the world away from her."

"James, we know who killed Lily. It wasn't you. It will never be you."

"It was me. I did everything but cast the curse."

"The bastard who did it is in the ground, we all saw to that."

Silence reigned in the hall then. The only thing that broke it was the sudden sound of footsteps on the floor and both turned to see Pomfrey hurrying back, her wand out and levitating what had to be dozens of potions behind her. She was speaking to herself, no doubt letting her thoughts on Kat's condition be vocalized. She spoke about old scars, bruises, burns, recent scratches, her a smidgen unhealthy arm, her body weight, the girl's diet, and so many other things that Sirius eventually tuned it out.

"Pomphey!" He called out her name and almost immediately she shushed him.

"Mr. Black, you're right by the Hospital Wing! Be quiet." She whisper-shouted at him, a glare crossing her face before her eyes turned to James and a potion left the mass hanging above her head. "Mr. Potter, you can do with one of my specialties. It'll help you clear your head with all that's happened recently."

"I don't need it." James would have normally said such a thing but in this case he gladly accepted the potion. He uncorked the stopper and threw his head back to down the vile sludge inside the bottle. Immediately he felt back against the wall and Pomphey flicked her wands and stopped the bottle from falling from suddenly loose fingers

"That's a strong potion."

"A bit of one of Severus's stronger Calming Draught. Mixed it with something to help him relax too." James was nearly asleep on his feet as Pomphey opened the doors to the infirmary with a stab of her wand. "Help me get him inside Mr. Black."

"I feel like I'm back in school more and more ever since I showed up here." Sirius threw James over one shoulder, the Black easily able to carry his best friend to the bed the Matron pointed out and gently sat him down on it. He let out an exaggerated breath as he sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm beat Pomphey. This day is filled with too much work for me."

"Sirius." The potions settled themselves down around Kat and parchment flew out of the nurse's office with quills following after them as she waved her wand back and forth through the air, a shower of sparks cascading down on the parchment as they passed underneath. "I don't need you hogging one of my beds just because you feel particularly lazy today. Need I remind you that I don't forget things easily?"

"I still deny that it was what it looked like."

"You had two Seventh Year girls down to their knickers on that bed specifically. On the one next to it you had a Sixth Year a few months before those two. All, might I add, when you were just a Fifth Year yourself." Her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes drilled Sirius to his spot. "Do you want me to go backwards or forward down memory lane from there?"

"Could we just stop?" Sirius knew she wouldn't and prepared himself for the Stinging Hex Pomphey would inevitably send at his jewels.

"You can stay and not hear me talk about your little exploits anymore only if you help me." Pomphey flicked her wand and most of the potions around Kat settled around him after a brief trip through the air. A stack of parchment came with it along with a multitude of small cups. "Measure out Ms. Potter's daily potion intake for the next few days from my instructions while I see to a few Order members still in my care."

"I wish I had a potion like James." Sirius wasn't really complaining as he took up the parchment in one hand and drew up the first bottle. It was one of Pomphey's unique potions and he read over the instructions for it after matching the label on it to a name on the parchment.

"You'll get one when you finish." Pomphey walked off into a deeper part of the Hospital Wing and Sirius watched her go.

The marks denoting his Vow burned as he drew his wand and leveled it at Kat.

"Sorry about this Kitty Kat."

* * *

AN: Still getting the flaming chicken or phoenix vibe from this thing. Either way, it's a bird on fire.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: First chapter.

* * *

"N-No more..." Kat pushed the woman away when she came at her with another cup in her grip. Purple vapor leaked over the lip and Kat officially decided she was done with the doses then and there. "This shit is over with."

"Young lady." The old woman set the cup holding the vile steaming mud down at her bedside and placed her hands on her hips. "Do you or do you not want to get better anytime soon? If you do, then you need to take all of these potions daily."

"I don't need that shit to get better." Kat rolled onto her side, one hand coming up to her head as it began to ache without the potions no matter how much she wished it didn't. She bit her lip and refused to let the woman see her face and the pain that it would undoubtedly show. "I don't need them anymore."

"You said that yesterday, the day before yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that. Yet every time you said those same words I needed help to make sure you took them. You need this potions and you're going to take them now or I'll have to call over Mr. Black help me with giving you the next few and I know you don't want that." The matron knew her better than she let on. She hated the man nearly as much as she hated the man that she had woken up to hovering above her. Forcing the vile sludge down her throat herself was almost favorable than having to deal with either of them.

"Get the fuck away from me already." Kat closed her eyes when the light began to hurt. "I'll do it myself later."

"I'll leave the list for you then. I expect that you to have drunk at least three more of these by the time I get back to you." The matron waved her wand through the air and the dreaded paper floated over to rest with the cups of the vile potion. "If you haven't, I'll make sure you do before I retire for the night."

The spike being driven into her head made it impossible for her to answer the matron. She found it in her to nod her head as a second spike joined the first one. She stopped herself from crying out when she tasted blood on her tongue. A third spike would soon join the other two and, regardless of what she tried, she would begin to sob at the mind rending pain it would cause. She would need to drink the potion soon or she would have it forced down her screaming throat.

It had happened yesterday, the day before yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that after all.

"Fuck...when is this going to end?" She turned over and blindly reached for the cup, somehow wrapping her fingers around it. She wanted to gag as she tried to prepare for what she was about to do but she ended up plugging her nose instead.

She could still barely down one of the cups. She still needed to do it two more times. The fact she threw the cup against the wall was an accepted fact by now as the two spikes driving through her skull were ripped off once the mud settled in her stomach.

She would need to wait for the pain in her skull to become unbearable before she even considered downing two more cups of the steaming mud the nurse was forcing on her. When she could do nothing but scream was too late but when light was too painful was too early. She had yet to find the place where the pain was too much for her to understand what she was shoving down her throat.

* * *

Firewhiskey didn't help. The bottle was empty and he merely sat at the small table of his rooms, one of the few things in it. He ran a hand over his face, leaving his glasses askew in the aftermath of the motion. As always, in the distant corner, a silver glow bathed the room in its light. Hazel eyes, as always, were drawn to it time and time again.

No number of glasses could draw them away and now it was more liquid courage than anything.

Everyday seemed to end like this now.

Firewhiskey. Glass after glass of the liquor.

He would eventually rise from his seat and stumble over to the source of the glow. He would stand in front of if then. Simply stand there for minutes to hours at times. His vision would be rendered blurry with tears as he looked at what he once had, all that he took for granted.

And then he would drown himself in it.

"They're not bad people Lily." He was beyond wrong. They were absolutely terrible people. Some of the worst he had ever seen and they were forcing him to do this. Forcing him to give them his precious little baby girl because they wanted to hurt him.

"Those _people_ are nothing but monsters James!" He wanted to agree with her. He wanted to just say yes and tell her everything but he couldn't. Not now and, hopefully, never.

He felt the mirror start to burn in his pocket.

"Just trust me on this Lily. Please." She had to.

"I don't want our daughter to have to grow up with those monsters around." And the stubborn woman he loved didn't want anything to do with their scheme. Merlin he loved her.

"She won't." It was the only thing he could make sure of. "I promise you she won't have to deal with anything like you did."

"What about Severus then?" The bastard Snivellous... Maybe Sirius was right when it came to letting him meet Moony on a bad night.

"I-I don't see how he matters here Lily." But he did. Severus hadn't exactly been silent over the years when he spoke with Lily. No amount of pleading could make him not tell the woman he respected the harsh truths of how important blood was in their world.

"He does James since he's a half-blood. He was one of the smartest kids I knew in Hogwarts. He was far from a bucket of sunshine but he wasn't like Lucius." She had a point, he could definitely concede to that. There were few who could actually match Severus Snape when it came to Potions and one of those who came close was currently talking about him. "That man treated him like trash because he was a half-blood and no one lifted a finger to help him. Our daughter is a half-blood just like him, and me, or have you already forgotten?"

"Lily, please just trust me on this. I would never hurt Kat. Never." Honesty was in his voice but she knew him too well. She must have known what was really happening.

"I'm not so sure now James." Her quiet words broke him more than seeing her tears ever could. "I can't deal with this or you right now."

"Lily! Lily! Come back! Merlin's beard..." She left the room no matter how loud he called for her. He was about to head out after her when he heard the pop of her Apparition. The near red hot mirror was wrenched out of his pocket. "What do you want Padfoot?"

"Am I interrupting something Prongs?" The bastard was smiling in it.

"...No." The lie was terrible even to his ears.

"I heard the shouting." His smile dropped ever so slightly, became that bit more forced and less natural.

"We weren't shouting. We were...we were having an intense disagreement." Merlin he was terrible at this.

"So, problems with your wife then Prongs? How can I help you and her so you two patch things up the fun way." And now the bastard was really smiling. "I'll even watch your little Kitty Kat for you."

"Just get here if you really want to take her." He was glad to hear some good news today at last. "Don't bother with the bike."

"AND I try to do something nice and you just have to ruin my fun don't you. Your Floo's open right?"

"To friends."

"I'm a friend right?"

"Just get over here Padfoot."

"Give me a few minutes. I've got to make sure Kreacher doesn't bring 'nice and sweet-better than nasty old dog-Mistress Bella' back."

"See you then."

James Potter ripped his head free of the small personal pensive. He wasn't gasping and sputtering and he didn't bother wiping away the tears as he let himself fall over the rim. His vision was blurry as his tears dripped from his eyes to his glasses and he ripped them off, sending them clattering across the floor somewhere.

"What did I do?" He asked an empty room the question and blindly reached for his wand. The tip was pressed to his temple and a silvery wisps followed it as he drew out another memory. He didn't look at it as he dumped it into the pensive and lifted himself off of it in a near daze. He somehow stumbled over to the bed nearby and collapsed onto it.

"What did I do?"

His nights always ended the same now. He asked himself the same question and received no answer.

* * *

"Dumbledore."

"Ah, it is a pleasure as always to see you Lucius and your company is quite stellar if I may say such a thing." The Wizard slowly rose from his desk. adjusting his half moon spectacles and panning his eyes over the company the Malfoy had brought with him. The bowler hat wearing Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic Dolores Umbridge, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones, and Head of the Auror Office Rufus Scrimgeour. He noticed a somewhat sour looking Minerva at the door and met her eyes for the briefest of moments.

Her expression softened but her eyes still carried worry as she closed the door and began her march back down the steps.

It was quite the collection of people for a meeting Dumbledore hadn't been expecting.

'I have a feeling I won't like the outcome of this meeting.' Despite any misgivings, he offered all present a brief handshake and a smile.

"Would any of you care for a sherbet lemon? They're quite the sweet if I do say so myself." When none took the offer the Headmaster chuckled as he drew one out for himself. "I find there will be more for me then." He took his time unwrapping the sweet, all of those present in the office taking the chance to sit down and, after a moment, glance around. Countless eyes watched them from the portraits around the room and Albus Dumbledore was once again not a fool.

Fudge was the first to squirm as he popped the candy into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. Lucius's eyes flashed from portrait to portrait before settling in front of him only to flicker out again when Dumbledore looked down at his desk.

"Pardon me, I'm afraid you've caught me at a rather bad time what with all these papers strewn everywhere." He adjusted his spectacles and drew out his wand. "I'll need a moment simply to make my office somewhat presentable for the illustrious Minister of Magic."

The process of collecting and sorting the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of papers strewn across the office would take thirty seconds at the speed he was going. The office was filled with only the rustling and whistling of paper moving through the air and the portraits continued to stare at the guests to the Headmaster's office. All of them had no right to be here. It was the idea he was going for.

Amelia's eyes drifted from the portraits to the papers before drifting back to the eyes of the portraits. It was a constant cycle for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and one she couldn't break no matter what she tried to occupy herself with.

Dolores attempted to glare at the Headmaster, no doubt the nature of this visit one of vindictive pleasure for the woman, but her eyes began to fart to and fro the longer the papers put themselves away. The past Headmasters of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would not let her leave their sight and she began to squirm just like the others.

At last, once the papers were out of sight and Dumbledore's wand was once again put away, Scrimgeour cleared his throat.

"Headmaster, I'm glad that we didn't interrupt you during some of your more important tasks but something rather...worrisome has been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Magic as of late." Rufus must have lost whatever wager with Amelia as he spoke with the Headmaster. Behind his half moon spectacles, his eyes never left those of the Head of the Auror Department. The twinkling of them seemed to dim the longer Rufus attempted to look at them. "Myself and my colleagues simply wish to...we simply wish to..."

The Headmaster rose a hand up, Scrimgeour ceasing as a student in class would when commanded by a teacher.

"I believe I understand what you are asking of me." Dumbledore leaned forward, his hands forming a steeple for him to rest his bearded chin on. "One of the occupants of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing has come to the attention of the Ministry and you have come because of several troubling and baseless rumors." The warmth of the fireplace seemed to leave the room. The eyes continued to watch them all but Dumbledore's had quickly become the most terrifying. "I wish to assure you all that none of those rumors are true as you all must know. They are nothing more than the product of schoolyard gossip." The aged Headmaster let a chuckle shake his head. "I am simply allowing an injured friend to recuperate within the school during break. They will of course be gone by the time the students return and any expenses shall be drawn from the Headmaster's personal expense account."

Dumbledore reached out and took another sherbet lemon from the glass case on his desk. The crinkling sound as he unwrapped the plastic echoed like a gunshot to the ears of those gathered before him and he popped it into his mouth after a moment.

"While I am esteemed to know you all care so deeply for the molding of young minds, I must regretfully inform you that rumors, as they are prone to do, has wasted some of your most valuable time."

The eyes of the Headmasters did not leave them and neither did Dumbledore's own.

"I'm sure you all can see that this rather impromptu meeting has no true necessity."

Dumbledore couldn't help but think those gathered before him looked like scolded children. The sight was not dissimilar to when he would have parents and students before him as both a Professor and as Headmaster. The Lord and four high ranking Ministry Officials all had a similar look to those same children as their parents turned their anger on them.

"Gossip and rumor mongering are things we cannot escape but I feel we can at least learn to identify them before they reach a level where the Minister of Magic has his time wasted on them." The eyes on the Minster drifted away. "His time is much more valuable than any of us yet he's wasted time on the rumors we all should have known were false before bringing to his attention." Dumbledore shook his head and Fawkes, from his perch, let loose a mournful note to echo throughout the room.

"H-Headmaster Dumbledore is right." Fudge found his voice with the eyes, so many eyes, away from him and he turned to those he had traveled to the office with. "You all need to stop relying on mere rumors and gossip. As the Minister of Magic my time is extremely valuable, something that cannot be wasted on every absurdity you draw from rags like that _Quibbler_ dribble."

"Minister F-" For once, Lucius found himself cut off.

"Minister Fudge is of course right." The eyes had left Dolores. "It is our duty as the Witches and Wizards of Magical Britain to ensure that his time is not wasted on things like the nonsense you brought to him this morning."

"Indeed." Dumbledore rubbed at his shortened beard. "I feel the Ministry of Magic is feeling the absence of so many high ranking officials such as yourselves and it is something that grows greater and greater the longer all of you are away." He rose from his seat and stepped over to the fireplace. "You all must get back as swiftly as possible."

"Indeed." Fudge stepped away from his seat first and strode over to the fireplace as the rest of his party followed. He clapped Dumbledore on the back and shook his hand. "I'm sorry for wasting your time with such nonsense Headmaster Dumbledore."

"All is forgiven Cornelius." Dumbledore gladly accepted the handshake with the customary humility. "I simply hope that the Ministry is still standing in your prolonged absence."

"I'll get it all under control when I get back." Fudge puffed with pride as the flames of his fireplace flashed green. Dumbledore took a bag of Floo Powder down from its place and offered it to the Minster of Magic.

"I'll be off now but expect me to write to you later Albus. Office of the Minister of Magic!" Green flames consumed the Ministry.

"Headmaster Dumbledore. Office of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic!" His Senior Undersecretary followed with a rather cold goodbye.

"Headmaster. Office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!"

"Headmaster. Office of the Head of the Auror Department!"

Dumbledore smiled as he offered the bag to Lucius Malfoy.

"I do wish that you have a pleasant day Lucius."

"Goodbye Dumbledore." The Malfoy snatched a handful of powder form the bag, sending it scattering onto the floor as he took too much. The eyes never left him. "Malfoy Manor!"

The fireplace flashed from green to red and Dumbledore hung the bag back where it belonged.

He awarded himself with another sherbet lemon as he sat down.

* * *

AN: Well...I may be sadist or a discoverer of something legendary. I'm still going to keep watching this thing and see if its just a burning chicken or actual phoenix.

Also: Three months this time. Totally not my fault.


End file.
